Celiac's No period Infertilty

[Ribbygirl6]

I was diagnosed with celiacs about 6 months ago and have been on a gluten free diet since then. I have been trying to conceive for 2 years now, but I pretty much have stopped getting periods. I have had regular periods my whole life up until about 2 years ago. My cycles just got longer and longer. I've had to take provera after a few 100 day cycles. I did get a period right after starting a gluten free diet, so I thought things were getting better, but after a couple 45 day cycles, I'm back to 100 and 75 day cycles.  My OBGYN did some blood tests (after a year of not really listening to me that something was wrong) and some of my hormones were in the menopause range. My estrogen was also low. I am only 35! She referred me to a fertility specialist, but I wondered if anyone has had experience similar to this? Were you actually in menopause? Did your periods ever come back? Were you able to conceive naturally or via IVF? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.  

[knitty kitty]

@Ribbygirl6,

I had menstrual irregularities before my Celiac diagnosis.  I believe that being deficient in Vitamin D played a BIG part.  

Vitamin D deficiency affects your hormone levels.  You must get your Vitamin D levels up by supplementing.  Optimal level is above 75 nmol/l.  

Here's more information....

"Association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level and menstrual cycle length and regularity: A cross-sectional observational study"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8717082/

And...

The Relationship between Vitamin D Status and the Menstrual Cycle in Young Women: A Preliminary Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6265788/

 

Please get checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Having Celiac means the area in the small intestine where vitamins are absorbed is damaged and malnutrition occurs.  Since we go for years before being diagnosed with Celiac, our health can be affected by those subtle nutritional deficiencies.

Checking for nutritional deficiencies is part of proper follow up care for people with Celiac.  Most doctors are not knowledgeable about vitamin deficiencies.  Most blood tests do not accurately measure deficiencies.  Discuss with your doctor and nutritionist about supplementing.

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum.

Be sure to also double check everything in your diet, including medications, supplements, makeup, etc. for hidden gluten. If you continually get trace amounts it can greatly delay, or totally postpone your recovery time:

 

[Ribbygirl6]

On 2/6/2022 at 10:55 PM, knitty kitty said:

@Ribbygirl6,

I had menstrual irregularities before my Celiac diagnosis.  I believe that being deficient in Vitamin D played a BIG part.  

Vitamin D deficiency affects your hormone levels.  You must get your Vitamin D levels up by supplementing.  Optimal level is above 75 nmol/l.  

Here's more information....

"Association between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level and menstrual cycle length and regularity: A cross-sectional observational study"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8717082/

And...

The Relationship between Vitamin D Status and the Menstrual Cycle in Young Women: A Preliminary Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6265788/

 

Please get checked for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Having Celiac means the area in the small intestine where vitamins are absorbed is damaged and malnutrition occurs.  Since we go for years before being diagnosed with Celiac, our health can be affected by those subtle nutritional deficiencies.

Checking for nutritional deficiencies is part of proper follow up care for people with Celiac.  Most doctors are not knowledgeable about vitamin deficiencies.  Most blood tests do not accurately measure deficiencies.  Discuss with your doctor and nutritionist about supplementing.

Thank you for the info about vitamin D. I asked my doctor, and she said we could check it. I haven't had a time to do it yet, but going to this week. Can I ask how long it took for your periods to be regular? I've been gluten free for 6 months and my bloodtest for gluten antibodies was actually normal about a month ago, so I thought I was doing okay. 

On 2/7/2022 at 1:17 PM, Scott Adams said:

Welcome to the forum.

Be sure to also double check everything in your diet, including medications, supplements, makeup, etc. for hidden gluten. If you continually get trace amounts it can greatly delay, or totally postpone your recovery time:

 

Thank you. I will start looking into nonfood things to make sure I'm not getting gluten That I don't know of.

[knitty kitty]

@Ribbygirl6,

I was severely deficient in Vitamin D, I was in the single digits.  It surprised my doctor how low the level was.  He prescribed D2, but that is synthetic and my body didn't like it.  I started supplementing with D3 (the more bioavailable form).  My body craved the D3 supplements.  I ate them like m&m's for a few weeks.  Really strange, but I was so depleted.  I noticed improvements when I got into the forties (nnmol/l), and I kept supplementing every day, but with smaller doses than before.  I started feeling much better when my level got into the eighties.  

Hope this helps!